


I'm Dying To Catch My Breath

by winterfrostwidow



Series: Avengers High School Stories [3]
Category: Marvel Cinematic Universe, The Avengers (Marvel Movies), Thor (Movies)
Genre: Abuse, Angst, Angsty Loki, Blackfrost - Freeform, Confused Loki, Damaged Natasha, F/M, Hate, Love, Misunderstood characters, Romance, Sad, Sappy, Teenagers, another high school au, anything else is just subplots, because the point is blackfrost!!, eventual blackfrost
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-03-28
Updated: 2018-04-19
Packaged: 2019-04-14 03:37:52
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 6
Words: 5,653
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14127252
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/winterfrostwidow/pseuds/winterfrostwidow
Summary: Loki is the school's delinquent, the one they fear the most. He struggles to seek out someone to relate to. In his home they disapprove of everything he does, at school they hate him and want him gone. He's used to rejection, the pain, the hurt. It's always been familiar.And then, just when he's about to give up on his trials of making an effort to keep living, he stumbles across a girl with fiery wavy curls who turns out to be just like him.





	1. Introduction

_PROLOGUE_

 

This new school of his, _Marvel High_ is it, is nothing at all fresh. He is a fool to expect to be treated differently. One thing he's learned is that he'll forever be the school's delinquent. The one who causes mischeif and that everybody hates because of the fear they held of him.

 

He's made the fire alarm go off to _decorate_ an enemy's locker, challenged the teachers and made them appear as fools when correcting their knowledge, calling an elderly teacher an old hag and another a mewling quim. 

 

He has been fed detention already on his first weeks of school. Instead of doing something even considered as productive, like his golden brother who's playing football, he hides and watches in the shadows. His daily black outfits making him blend into them nicely.

 

He watches people, the fake idiots that roam the school halls.

He hates them.

Every one of them.

He hates this school, just as his previous. 

 

Asgard is a small town with a far lesser population than Marvel. He doesn't miss it there, but he best prefers it over this new area infested with cheap attention-seeking airheads.

 

Asgard is admired for it's landscape and gorgeous scenery. He remembers hiking the mountains for hours with Thor when they were younger, yelled by their mother later that day who feared that they've gone missing.

 

Funny. She used to care for him so much. Now she and Odin have shut him out completely, only having eyes for their golden boy Thor.

 

He doesn't know what he hates most. School or the place he calls home. Because  _home_ is the one place he's most ignored. At least at school they all acknowledge him, even if it's with disgusted scowls or fearful eyes.

 _Home_ is where Odin and Thor talk enthusiastically about sports, ignoring Loki's absence even when he's sitting right there. Odin doesn't even ask Loki how school was. Not even in Asgard has he cared to wonder about his school grades.

_He only cares about Thor._

When he looks at Loki, his stare has always contained disapproval. Not disgust or the scowls he receives at school. It's plain disapproval. It hurt Loki to the core, so much it's been converted to pure hate and rage. And now he's like this. He's a mad delinquent, always intending to cause other's pain who dare cross him. Always the vengeful one.

 

 

Well, at least now he has a friend. Or whatever term is used to describe two people who barely talk but always stick together.

 

She's just like him. But strange and less intimidating. Rather weird actually. 

 

She wears torn fishnet stockings under black gothic dresses, a fingerless glove on one hand and the other hand having silver metal rings on each finger & a chain bracelet around her wrist. He doesn't tend to miss the intense eyeliner or how graceful her delicate long fingers move with the chipped black manicure nails.

 

They met when he was sitting on a table in the dark corner of the cafeteria, unaware the spot belongs to someone else.

He wasn't going to leave, even when she pointed the knife carving of her name on the centre of table. _Wanda_. She didn't mind him the more he was at her table. And when he stopped coming she'd find him alone under the school tree outside, smoking a cigarette or simply sitting  & reading there. She joined him and he didn't mind her presence. It was quite soothing in a way. They both had a reputation of being vandalizing hooligans. Spray painting shit on the school walls together and what not. If anything, Wanda has become his trusted partner in crime. She has his back and he has hers. 

 

She also has a brother. He's the golden child between the two, just not in the way Thor is. Wanda loves Pietro and has no jealous feelings towards him. Unlike Loki. He does wish she did though, that way he'd talk to her more. Because really, they rarely speak over five minutes. Which he's grown used to.

They're two different souls, dark in their own way. But not in a way that they can relate to each other. They still stick together. They're considered as the gothic Bonnie & Clyde of school, except they have no romantic relations. Not emotional. Maybe physical. Because she's kissed him out of frustration, and Loki has been suppressing a thirst for a very long while. So he kissed her back, which turned into a long make-out session that caught eyes.

She is a great distraction, makes his hate & rage lessen every day he sees her. And he has the same affect on her too.

 

 


	2. Chapter One

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Warning: Mention of self-harm.

Natasha Romanov doesn't know how long she's been staring at the closed door in front of her, her white knuckles tightening around the thin blanket wrapped around her as if watching a horror film with anticipation. She gulps when she feels a bead of sweat roll on the side of her head, doesn't flinch when her alarm clock makes it's usual beeping noise.

She unwraps her blanket from her trembling body, forcing herself to get up & take a shower after silencing the noise alarm. She feels too icky and disgusted to wait any longer.

She grits her teeth together when she feels the wounds pulling with spiking pain, releasing a shaky breath when they're exposed to the cold shower water. 

She stares down intently as blood escapes through the drain, along with a few of her tears.

 

When she's done she looks blankly at her dull wardrobe. She grabs whatever she gets her hands on first. She can't care less, not today.

She wears the black metal shirt, careful not to move too much to pull the fresh wounds. She slips into slim black denim jeans and grabs the black combat boots that have chains. She leaves her wavy curls over her shoulders and ignores the tangles.

 

She never forgets to wear layers of jackets after that, feeling naked in just a tee. Then they would all see. None of them can know the truth.

It doesn't matter how hot it is. It doesn't matter when she walks into the school entrance, the mean girl squad sharing whispers intentionally loud for her to hear, "What a freak."

 

They all look at her as if she is a bug. But they will never get a reaction out of her. She's been able to maintain that hardened stoic expression on her face, mastering indifference that always frustrated everyone around her. Making them think she sees herself above them, that she thinks she's unique to stoop to their level. They can all think what they want. It's better that way than being a charity case.

 

 

 

She finds Barnes leaning against her locker and sharply purses her lips. She wonders what he wants now. No popular people would want to be seen around with a freak like her. They only know each other because she may have saved him from conflicting self-harm on himself when she found him crying at his own party in his bathroom. She was supposed to pick up a drunken Clint that night but stumbled across this jock who just turns out to be a broken rich boy forced to go by his parents.

 

"Hey." He greets with a small smile, leaning away from her locker so that she can open it. She narrows her eyes on him instead and does nothing so that he can speak & leave her be.

"What?" She quirks an eyebrow. 

"Ah, about that night..." His hair almost reaches his shoulders and he hasn't cut it since. He moves his hand through it nervously, her piercing gaze making him squirm more. "I, I didn't get that chance to thank you."

"Okay."

"I never got your name." He frowns.

She watches him with dead eyes, making him even more anxious. "It's Natasha." Even the way she speaks. As if she's void of any emotion. It unsettles him to the point of fidgeting. She raises an eyebrow at his nervous movements. "Are you done?"

"Yeah. Y-yeah." He nods vigorously, his heart pounding. "I'll see you around."

He turns and she watches him leave. "I hope not." She murmurs.

 

\- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - 

 

Loki & Wanda sit under their tree, while she lays her head on his chest as he tangles his fingers through her long brown hair. She smokes a joint, which he always declines when she tries to offer him. She just loves to blow a puff in his face and he'd make his disgusted, annoyed face. Commenting that it smells like grass. 

She laughs. "That's because it kinda is."

"Why would you want that in your system?" He cringes. 

She shrugs, resting her head back on his chest and curling one arm around him. "It keeps me from stress. You should try it. I've seen that your shoulders have been tense lately."

"You see many things. Others I'm sure are delusional." He twists his lips.

She chuckles. "You sure do have a way of hiding your sentimental side."

Off topic.

He narrows his eyes coolly.

"I don't have time for sentiments." He presses his lips together. 

"Not even with your family?" She sits up to look him in the eye.

He hasn't told her about his life at home, he hasn't really trusted her to that point. He hopes one day he will. Or find someone to trust. "I don't know." Is all he says.

She watches him for a few moments before throwing her joint away on the grass. "Well...what we have-"

"Is nothing but physical." He looks her in the eye when he spoke. 

She looks at him longer. "But you're still mine." She says it to herself more than to inform him. 

He looks away, almost laughing.

He has never belonged to anyone, why would he now belong to her?

He sighs. Not saying anything against it.

Let her think what she wants.

"Everyone thinks we're a couple." She smirks, thinking that he was silently agreeing with what she'd just claimed.

"Of course they do. We're the only freaks for each other here." He says, not meaning it romantically but as a fact. Honestly, if he finds someone better to relate to, Loki would leave Wanda. The brunette has always been a loner, so he tries to not feel guilty thinking that way.

She smiles in what seems to be satisfactory before laying back on his chest, feeling the muscle beneath his black clothing. "Yes... for each other."


	3. Chapter Two

He needs space to think sometimes, not always does he enjoy company because that would mean he has to pretend listening which he doesn't have the patience for.

 

He avoids Wanda after school. She'll probably sit alone under his tree, smoking her joints as usual. She won't look for him on the school bleachers, knowing his distaste for jocks and their trivial sports. Especially when his brother will be there.

But here he is now, perhaps to patronize Thor later.

The blonde doesn't seem to be there on the football field though. Loki only sees his pathetic jock friends Barnes and Rogers, who he has seen recently in his own home invited to have dinner with his family. Loki wasn't there and preferred to lock himself in his room filled with melancholy rock music. His parents didn't seem to care anyway, as if they ever.

 

He's starting to hate cigarettes. He looks at his pack of cigarettes with a grimace. He'll throw them in the trash later. But he just doesn't know what to do with his hands if he can't hold a damn cigarette. 

Maybe one last puff. It won't kill him.

 

He lights up a cigarette and watches as smoke blows from his mouth. His eyes catch red hair momentarily, a girl sitting a few steps down from him. Not even acknowledging him. He stares at her back as he blows a puff. Maybe she's a girlfriend of someone on the sports field, supporting whatever meathead athlete is there.

He narrows his eyes.

Her hair stands out in the most blinding manner especially under the bright sunlight. He sneers his upper lip. Just about everything she's wearing is black and her head sticks out like a sore thumb.

 

He flicks his cigarette away with his fingers, and just as he's about to leave the bleachers, now bored, a gang climbs up the steps to head straight to him. Loki juts his jaw out in aggravation and claws his hand through his black long hair.

 

"Odinson!" 

When he stands, they immediately surround him.

"What is this now?" He asks in plain annoyance. 

"You stole our money!" 

Loki clenches his fists, the muscles of his jaw tightening staring at the gang surrounding him. Just a bunch of junkies ruining their own lives. How did he, Loki, end up with these incompetent drug-addicted imbeciles? "When did this happen exactly?"

"You goddamn cheat, I saw your little tricks during our game! Did you really think I'd let you get away with it?" The blonde guy approaches him dangerously and gets in his face. The guys around him get closer too, their hands balling into fists.

Do they really think they can threaten him?

"Pay us back. Every last fucking cent."

"I have no clue what you're going on about."

"No?" 

"No." Loki says with an irritated wince.

"I will kill you. You know that right? I will fucking hunt you down like a dog, Odinson. And then I will hunt your family too. Do you know who my father is? He rules this fucking town!"

Loki tries not to growl. "How about you and your little poodles run along before anybody here, gets hurt." He says slow and menacingly, taking a step closer until the two are almost touching noses. They stare each other down, the taller one, being Loki, itching to make the first move. His green eyes glare painfully into his, daring him. 

And to think, the blonde was smart, he pulls his fist back to punch Loki.

Loki catches his wrist before his fist can connect to his jaw and holds it there tightly. The guy widens his eyes in what seems to be realization and fear as he tries to twist his own arm away.

He feels the pressure under his wrist as Loki begins to crush it. "Hey, man, let go!" His voice quivers. But the words go over Loki's head, a whole new aggression taking over his already darkened face as he feels something crack under his grip. He wants to hurt him, show them all what happens if they cross him. He feels it, the dominating power, the need to break _him_.

They all realize who the real alpha is now, stepping back in fear. 

"Let go of him!"   "Hey leave him, man!"  "Leave him alone!"  They all uselessly yell in distress.

The blonde’s eyes turn red and he blinks away tears, cowering and shaking under Loki's glower. "Let go of me, you fucking monster!"

 

The words pierce his heart like a knife plunging through skin, painfully so. Shame starts blazing in him instantly, and spreads like fire. Loki comes back to himself, or more to reality, and drops the man's wrist only to see a dark red print around it with widened eyes.

The blonde covers his wrist in pain. "You freak!" He shouts. 

Loki gapes his mouth in shock, trying to say something, maybe an apology. But nothing comes out. He looks around him, and they all step back when he just turns his head. His breathing becomes hard and heavy. _You fucking_   _monster._ He shudders. His eyes land on a girl, the one with red hair. She already stood up, watching the scene with curiosity. Their eyes meet, only for a moment, before he escapes the looks of fear, disgust, hate. 

 

But, it's nothing new.


	4. Chapter Three

Natasha sighs and forces a smile when Clint sees her from the field, shielding his eyes from the glaring sun with his hand and starts running off the field to head to the bleachers when their coach dismisses them. She stands and descends down the steps, carrying her black sling bag along with.

"You actually came." Clint smiles, his hair slick and his skin glistening with sweat. He is still huffing and puffing in his football uniform tiredly.

"Yeah, I did." She glances over his shoulder at Bucky Barnes who's already staring at her. 

"Thanks, Nat." He nods at her appreciably. "And I'm sorry for being absent these past days -"

"Don't worry about it." She tightens her smile. "You can't keep spending time with one person all the time, a _girl_ especially. You need...guys. If anything I'd be sorry for isolating you."

"No, Nat. Don't say that." He shakes his head.

"No really." She squeezes his shoulder fondly. "I owe you. And I'm not trying to keep you all to myself." 

"But you can come and hang with us." 

She frowns as he turns his head to Bucky and Steve, who give awkward waves from the distant.

"When?"

"After school." Clint faces her again with a grin. "We're going to Bobby's Bob Grill."

"Catchy name." She smirks.

He chuckles. "Yeah. So come?"

"With them?" She raises an eyebrow.

Clint raises an eyebrow too. "Ah, duh. It'll be the four of us."

She meets Bucky's eyes again. He won't stop staring at her even when Steve is talking to him.

 

She smiles at Clint again. "I don't want to be the fourth wheel."

"That's dumb, Nat. What, did you make that up?"

She rolls her eyes. But she doesn't want to go back to the house any sooner. She's been trying to stay as far away from hell as she possibly can. She shivers thinking of coming back to the one place she sleeps, watching her bedroom door like a paranoid freak as always. 

 

She gulps and forces a bright smile. "I'll come."

"Alright. Well, the boys and I are gonna change..." He turns to whistle at his friends and they come along. "I'll see you by my car, right?"

She nods. "Sure."

Bucky and Steve pass her following Clint behind. Natasha looks back at the bleachers and sighs.

 

 - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

 

"Loki, where were you? I was searching for you when school ended." Thor asks as his brother slams the front door harshly. 

 

"Are you alright?" The blonde frowns upon seeing him so rather dark and down. "Why are you so gloomy?"

Loki shrugs Thor's hand off his shoulder and storms to the kitchen.

"Where was I? Where was _I?!_ Where were you?! You weren't at your stupid practise so I left and had to walk all the way here by myself!" He yells pulling the fridge door open before slamming it a second later irritated by the constant contents inside.

Thor sighs. "I am sorry. It will not happen again."

 

Loki's car apparently needs repairs because of it's age. Oh he loves his old 60's black impala car. He's never needed anything else. Odin insists on buying him a new car even though it's getting fixed. But Loki believes Odin only insists because his car must be embarrassing in his yard.

 

Thor grins, trying to lighten the mood. "Brother, you must come at the grill today. That's what I've been meaning to speak to you about. I'd really like you to meet my friends. They'd like you."

Loki raises an eyebrow. "Nobody at school likes me."

Thor frowns. "That's not true. I like you."

Loki rolls his eyes. "You don’t count."

"But you need this. I will be there!" Thor says in excitement. "You will meet excellent people."

"Yes you are right. You will be there. You'll be there to _ignore_ me." He rasps.

Thor pouts his lip. "I would never ignore you."

Loki sneers. "You do that everyday with Odin." 

"That's not true. We don't ignore you!"

He rolls his eyes and groans even more when their mother joins them in the kitchen.

"What is this I hear?" Frigga asks, opening the fridge to grab out some juice to pour in a glass.

Thor grins. "Loki and I are going out in a few minutes to a grill restaurant. It's called Bob-Bobby or something. It will be very pleasant!"

Their mother smiles gleefully. "That's great! Loki is finally getting the beat of some fresh air."

"That is  _not_ true. I am not going anywhere with him or anybody. I'm staying in my room." Loki says.

"No, you are not! You are going to go out with your brother. For once! Please act normal only for today." Frigga begs.

Loki feels his heart twist at those words. "And what am I if not normal?" He snaps.

"Loki, that is not what she meant." Thor sighs.

"Oh no. That is exactly what she meant." Loki snips.

Frigga walks to him and cups his cheeks. Her hold on his face tightens when he tries to pull away. "You are going out with Thor just this once. It will not kill you, or hurt you in any way."

"Maybe it'll hurt his pride." Thor sniggers to himself, earning glares from both sides. He shuts up and clears his throat awkwardly. "Right."

Frigga turns back to Loki. "Do this for me? For your dear old sweet mother?" She smiles.

Loki pulls her wrists to get her hands off him. "Right. Because you don't want me in the house."

Frigga exhales tiredly.

"No it's fine. There's no need to deny it any longer. I'll go. For your sake and Odin's. And maybe next time?" He steps closer and gives his mother a menacing stare. "I'll be gone forever." He sharply leaves and retreats out of the house, slamming the door with so much anger. 

Frigga turns to Thor and sighs. "Try to have fun, alright?" She forces a small shaky smile.

Thor gives her a hesitant smile back before following his angry brother out.


	5. Chapter Four

It's warm when they enter into the grill, their nose getting the smell of sweet wood and barbecue. The place is filled with sappy rock music and lit with glowing bulbs around. 

Natasha shifts uncomfortably and tries to breathe. Clint leads them to a table and they sit there. She sits next to him and tries to not glance once at Bucky. She gets a sense that there's tension between them, an odd one, and he wants to get closer to her for some reason.

She looks around and sighs. It's beautiful, and not very crowded as she was worried. She sighs and makes a decision to slip at least one jacket off, now left with one more and a jersey on her.

Clint has asked a few times why she keeps doing that, wearing layers of clothes on top of another. She'd lie saying it's part of her look. She only knows it makes her feel safer. Quite safer than her shell and disguise more than anything.

She smiles when she feels their eyes on her and she fiddles with her jacket on her lap. After a few seconds of the silence it breaks and they start a conversation. She smiles and nods so that it's enough that they wouldn't have to force her to join in. It goes on for so long until she realizes she has to take a damn piss. She grits her teeth and huffs through her nose.

"I gotta go to the lavatory." 

Clint pauses from his conversation and turns to her smiling. "Yeah yeah, sure." He pats her back before she gets up to leave.

Bucky's eyes trail behind her and he sighs burying his face in his hands.

 "Forget it, man. She's hard to crack." Clint says apologetically.

Steve squeezes his shoulder. "He's so smitten he can't utter a complete sentence to her without stuttering."

 

\- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - 

 

"It smells like trees in here." Loki sneers.

"It smells incredible, Loki. Come." Thor grins, throwing him to his side by curling his arm around his exasperated brother's shoulder. 

Loki groans.

 

"Oh look. Aren't those your idiotic friends of yours?" Loki says with venom, his expression dark.

Thor's grin widens. "Oh yes." He drags Loki with him to the table Loki was pointing at. "Barnes, Rogers! Good to see you guys here." 

 

Barnes removes his hands off his face and he & Steve turn their heads in unison. "Hey, man." Bucky grins.

"Thor, whatdya doing here? We thought you weren't coming." Steve smiles.

"Well I finally found my brother here." Thor pulls Loki closer to his side. His brother rigid and vexed. "Hi, Clint." The blonde greets Barton.

"Hey, bro. What's up? You wanna sit?" Clint offers.

Loki's annoyance grows even more at just being here. 

"Yes, of course!" Thor takes the empty seat next to Clint who frowns.

"Ah, actually, someone else is-"

"Loki, sit next to Bucky." Thor orders when the young raven-head doesn't move. "Guys this is my brother, Loki, by the way!" Thor is too happy about this it makes Loki want to vomit.

"Hi?" He rasps with a hint of distaste, waiting for Thor's friends to move over so that he can take a seat. Clint glares at him and the rest look at him as if he's rather strange. When they do finally move over and he sits, he makes sure to leave a gap between the brunette jock and himself. 

Loki keeps his hands shoved in his leather jacket pockets and scowls when a waitor finally comes. They all order, except for him, before the waitor leaves.

"Hey, where's Nat?" Steve asks.

"She's taking her damn time obviously." Clint says gruffly, before glancing Loki's way coolly. "So how come you never tag along with your brother?"

Loki grits his teeth not wanting to be addressed. "Because my brother and I are not alike. Maybe it's that?" He says with a hint of annoyance, his patience wearing thin as he starts tapping the heel of his boot against the wooden floor.

"We hear, that you're called the, ah..." Steve trails off not sure if he should complete his sentence.

"School's psychopath?" Loki looks the other blonde's way who swallows.

"Are you really a psychopath?"

 _Whether I am or not that wouldn't be any of your business now would it, you mindless idiot._ Loki snaps inwardly. Is this really all they thought of? Before he can even insult, Thor answers for him. Making him even more irate. Loki bites his tongue before he explodes.

"My brother may appear being rather...dark and untamed, but he is _not_ any of these words they call him at school." Thor says carefully. But Clint still doesn't trust him.

"I need a smoke." Loki mutters, arupbtly leaving and ignoring Thor's questions. The rest look around each other awkwardly.

 

Loki storms out of the restaurant already pulling his pack of cigarettes out, knowing that he promised to throw them away earlier, and lights up a cigarette with a shaky hand. He blows a puff through his nose, his emotions a mess.

They all don't like him.

He shouldn't be surprised.

Today was a rather bad day for him. Not only is he unwanted at home, but he broke a man's wrist too, called a monster for that. Maybe that's why they don't want him anymore. Because they found out what he truly is. A fucked up aggressive untamed lunatic. He blows a smoke, before he freezes upon seeing a whimpering redhead in the shadows.

He pulls his cigarette from the mouth, blowing a puff, and tries to get a better view. She's hiding in a corner, crying. He can see her shoulders shaking, tears trailing down her puffy flushed cheeks, gasping repeatedly as she tries to wipe away as much as she can. 

It's that redhead from the bleachers earlier on. 

 

 

Loki steps closer, and the second he does she turns to him and her eyes widen. She wipes her tears away fast and angrily & sniffs, scowling at him. " _What_?" She hisses.

She's beautiful, he realizes. More beautiful than any girl he's ever seen. And she's even more beautiful crying, like an angel in distress. There's something enigmatic about a crying angel.

Her scowl dissolves and she stares at him warily now, regarding him carefully. He steps closer, reaching out to move a curl from her face and he tugs it behind her ear. Her eyes flutter close at his touch and she doesn't even protest. When she snaps her eyes open again, those vulnerable piercing green eyes, she immediately walks away sharply. Shoving his shoulder out of the way before storming back into the restaurant.

Loki swallows, his heart still thumping hard. He gets rid of his cigarette and inhales deeply, before he follows her inside.

 


	6. Chapter Five

Natasha's heart thumps, her emotions all over the place.

Her mask has slipped. And a stranger has witnessed that. She was vulnerable in the eyes of another person. It feels like her deepest, darkest secret has been discovered. She allowed him to come near her and touch her like that.

Her hands annoyingly shake and she balls them into fists.

She storms back inside the restaurant, her heart twisting in disgust as she looks down at her phone to close the perverted text message she's received from the monster at home. 

 

"Natasha, where the hell were you?" Clint demands when she approaches the table.

She hopes she doesn't look like she has been crying. She hopes no one sees even a glimpse of sadness in her eyes. Next to Clint is a blonde she knows as Thor, sitting on her seat, but she doesn't comment because she is planning on leaving either way.

"We thought you were in the restroom." Steve frowns.

 "Yeah..." She begins but stops. 

The hairs at the back of her neck stand, feeling someone looming over her. She frowns and glances over her shoulder, only making her heart jump in her throat.

There, standing behind her, is the guy who has seen her broken not a minute ago. A few black strands hang over his sharp big eyes. He stares back at her, with his sulken face and dark features, his gaze unsettling. It's as if he's looking through her like an x-ray scan. Her skin crawls, not in the way that it does when she's violated, but it's exciting yet minacious. She's never wanted to stay far away from someone more than her adoptive monstrous father. 

 

She tilts her head back to Clint when his dark gaze on her becomes overwhelming. She tries to put on the most believable show for her friends as she smirks. "Jeez, Barton, can't I go anywhere without you whining?" She drawls, raising a few chuckles from the table.

"But you left the restaurant, seeing as you came back from the entrance." Clint narrows his eyes. 

She was thinking of leaving, going back to the house, but stopped when she received that disgusting message. That's when the stranger behind her had found her crying. No one knows what awaits her at the one place she sleeps. "Well, I don't need to explain myself to you." She says smoothly. "I need to go. I've got things to do."

 

Loki has never been pulled in by another human before, but this, this is art. This is, perfection. _She_ is perfection. He has found her with tears spilling from her eyes and now she's acting as how they want to see her. She has created this accepting role for society, but without giving anything away that would earn their pity. But he sees right through her perfectly crafted mask. She'd make the perfect actress. Hiding whatever darkness she's going through. 

Loki can _not_ let her go.

 

"Bye, boys." She smirks, winking at Clint, before spinning around to find Loki in her way. He doesn't even bother making a smug expression. He believes that she's intelligent enough to know that he's amused by her little play.

 

Natasha doesn't even bother hiding a gasp when she almost collides with him, her heart thumping hard in her chest again. She swallows and she just knows he can see the conflict on her face.

He briefly glances down her parted plumpy pink lips, and he smirks. "In fact, I too, have to leave." He speaks to his brother with his eyes still glued on her.

She is magnificent. 

 

She frowns keeping her gaze on him.

 

"But, Loki-" Thor protests.

"I'll give her a ride." Loki walks even closer into her, feeling the warmth around her region. Would she allow it if he tries to touch her again? He wonders.

 

"I-I'm fine." The stutter is a clear indication of how nervous he's making her. And it amuses him to know that she cannot use her mask on him, now that he's seen her true side. 

"Oh but I insist." His silky voice gets rough. It sends shivers down her spine.

 

Natasha must stay away from him. He is making her feel all floods of emotion, and it's making her angry. She balls her hands into fists and almost explodes when Barnes suggests with concern, "It's late. You shouldn't be walking home at a time like this anyway. I think it's a good idea he gave you a ride." Well damn him.

"I'll take my brother's car." The stranger says.

She glares at the dark-haired stranger furiously now, only making his smirk widen. Her friends don't know they've met each other about a minute ago, that he has seen her cry helplessly in a dark corner outside.

And she can see it right now;

this bastard is blackmailing her through his eyes.

Either she comes with him or they'll all know. And she's certain for sure that Barton won't lay off her back until he finds out what's really going on in her so-called sad pathetic abusive life. Natasha cannot let that happen.

 

"Fine." She says casually, forcing an easy shrug that blinds everyone from the tension between her and Loki.


End file.
